Those First Two Inches
by imonadiet
Summary: Lane/Dave Lane gets grounded, Dave gives her an oppurtunity to come away with him. She takes it.


Author: imonadiet aka Jocelyn.  
Disclaimer: don't own it.  
Pairing: Lane and Dave cuz they rock my world  
Those First two Inches  
  
  
  
In order to understand me one would have to understand Momma Kim, and in order to do that one would have to dig back into my deep Korean roots. Generation after generation of Korean breeding has led up to me, Lane Kim. And even after having thousands of years of tradition drilled into my head and forced upon my life, I had still dared to do the unthinkable-date a non-Korean. The only problem is that I hadn't quite gotten to the point where I told Momma Kim about my daring behavior.   
  
Dave and I had been dating in secret, hiding our relationship from everybody in the world except for Lorelai, Rory, Luke and Jess. Even our fellow band mates didn't know. That is, they didn't know until that one fateful day when it the story REALLY began.  
  
We had been holding our rehearsals as usual in the Gilmore's garage, with no one the wiser to our secret liaison until the fateful day that my mother went on an unprecedented raid of my room and found my drumsticks. I thought that I had hidden those so well! But rather than screaming at me about her discovery, she hid her knowledge and raised suspicions of Dave and followed behind us on the way to our "Bible group" in Hartford. When she discovered that rather than studying the epistles we were playing the devil's music she stormed our rehearsal and dragged me out by the wrist, screaming at me in Chinese about God knows what, I couldn't even understand her at that speed.   
  
It was quite possibly the worst experience of my entire life. Not even the getting punished part, but she totally humiliated me in front of Dave and the other guys. I was especially worried about Dave. I know that he likes me and all, but what guy would willingly subject himself to the... DEATH that is Mrs. Kim? I don't understand it; maybe Dave is a masochist and enjoys the pain inflicted on him because of my "situation" and me.   
  
It was definitely the harshest punishment I've ever received; I was allowed to go to my house, to school and to church. While I've been that restricted before, the worst part was the looks my mother gave me throughout the day. The constant supervision that not even I, the master escape artist, could break out of. Little hostile comments she would throw out during dinner, to friends or family on the phone hit me so hard I could sometimes stop breathing. She even called our minister to ask him to pray for me in my sinful ways.   
  
I couldn't come into contact with Dave at all. My mother went out searching for him one day, and I couldn't even warn him. Momma Kim had my seven cousins who also go to Stars Hollow High agree to tell her if I spoke with him at all. Thank God she didn't find him, he would have been dead. Between the day that my mother had found out about my "secret life" and that one night I didn't see him at all.  
  
Then one night, it was pretty late-probably around one o'clock in the morning; I heard a tapping at my window. The only thought that ran through my mind was, 'Jess must have gotten the wrong house.' He's the only guy who I've ever heard of tapping on windows. But then when I opened the curtains Dave was sitting outside my window, perched nervously between my roof and the huge tree next to it.   
  
"What are you doing here?" I whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Oh, hey Lane," he said somewhat nonchalantly.   
  
"Again I say what... what are you doing here?" I asked him incredulously.   
  
"I had to see you," he said seriously. The way that he looked into my eyes made me melt. My knees started shaking and I had to lean forward onto the windowsill to balance myself. A boy... a very cute boy... wanted to see me? A boy was sitting outside my window at one o'clock in the morning telling me that he had to see me?  
  
"Are you OK?"   
  
"What? Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Uh... what did you say?" I asked him.  
He chuckled his gorgeous wonderful little chuckle and said, "I had to see you. It's been days since I've seen you."  
  
"Six days, five hours and twenty-two minutes," I blurted out.   
He laughed a hesitant, questioning laugh and then leaned forward and said,   
  
"When can I start seeing you again?"  
  
"When the Korean Hitler decides to give up her power," I sighed.  
  
He paused for a few moments and then said, "I have to tell you something."  
My heartbeat started racing like crazy. What if he said, "I love you"? Could I say it back? Would he be lying? Would I? Did I love him?  
  
"Woah, Lane, relax. It's nothing bad."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You got the look of death on your face when I said that."  
  
"Oh, I did? Sorry," I said. I was really starting to sweat.  
  
"I uh, I have to go away for a while," he said, looking down away from my eyes.  
  
"What? Where? Why? Wha... what?"  
  
"My cousin got really sick a couple days ago, the doctors are running tests and stuff, but they don't know what it is yet. My mom wants me to go out there during break next week and help out his mom with his brothers and sisters a little bit. She can't do it because she just got this new job and if she missed that much work... I might have to live out there for a little while, you know, if things get really bad."  
  
"Where does he live?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I really wanted the answer to that question.  
  
"Tuscan," he said quietly. Nope, definitely didn't want that answer.   
I choked on the spit that I had been swallowing in preparation for his answer. I coughed and hacked and tried to regain my breath before I whispered, "Tuscan?"  
  
"Yeah," he said.  
  
"You really have to go?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"But that means that now... no matter what I won't be able to see you!" I started feeling like I was going to hyperventilate. My chest got really tight, and I could hardly breathe. My throat felt like it was swelling up, and I could only hear pounding in my head. I stumbled a little bit and Dave quietly jumped into my room through the window and grabbed my arm, leading me to the bed. He helped me sit down and rubbed my back and arms and helped me catch my breath again.   
  
When I could finally breathe again I leaned my head against his arm and whispered, "Why do you have to go? Why can't you stay here?"  
He stayed silent for a little while, with his arm around my back rubbing my other arm.   
  
"Come with me."  
  
"What?" I gasped. He said it so simply. As though that was really an option! Me? "My mother would never let me, Dave, you know that."  
  
"Then don't... then just don't tell her!" he said desperately.  
My mouth opened in response to say, 'No! That's crazy! I could NEVER do that! I can't leave my home!' but what really came out was, "OK."  
  
"OK?" he asked doubtfully.  
I pulled my head back a little bit with a look of what I'm sure was confusion on my face and said, "Yeah. Let's go."  
  
"Umm, OK. Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's go," I repeated, stronger that time.   
  
"So... what exactly are we going to do?"  
Oh. My. Gosh. Dave... the love of my life Dave was asking me what I thought our plans should be about kidnapping me to go with him to Tuscan.   
  
"Um... how about you handle that part of it?"  
  
"Alright, so I was planning on leaving the day after tomorrow. But... what time is it?"  
  
"Um, one thirty-five I think."  
  
"Let's go now."  
  
"Now?" I choked out.  
  
"Yeah. You can pack in the next half hour; I'll go home and tell my parentals, leaving out the part about you of course. Then I can pack, you can write a note, and I'll swing by here in a half an hour to get you."  
  
It all just sounded so simple. Without a second glance I could get out of here, away from my Bible-thumping mother, away from the prying eyes of Stars Hollow, away from he only home I've ever known, away from Rory...   
  
"What about Rory?"  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Can I just see her? Please? We can just run by there reeeaaally quick on the way out of town. I promise, I'll be just a second. I can't leave for who knows how long without saying goodbye to Rory."  
  
"Yeah, sure," he said, looking out the window then at his watch. "All right, so I'll be back here in thirty minutes to get you. You'll be watching?"  
  
"Huh? Oh... yeah, I'll be watching."  
And with that he kissed my cheek and made his way out of my window and down my tree, back to his house.  
  
I had tried to make my outside look calm and collected, cool and confident, but inside I was feeling more emotions than I thought were possible. I was happy that I would get to see Rory before we left, but that was the key word. Left. Leaving. I couldn't believe that Dave, DAVE, the guy who played guitar for my mothers Bible-studies, and me were leaving. I was confused about the change that had occurred in him. Could desperation do such a thing to a person? For the whole time I had known him he had always been so good. What did he expect me to do while we were gone?  
  
That brought a whole new flood of fear and anxiety. What if he wanted me to give him my virginity in some sort of a repayment? I mean it was going to be just him and me all the way to Tuscan. I tried to put all of those sorts of thoughts out of my head and focus on packing. I grabbed everything out of my sock and underwear drawer, a few books, some clothes, and my CD case that held all my good CD's in case of emergencies.  
  
I packed everything in my little overnight bag. There was just one thing left to do. A note. What could I possibly say? I sat down on my bed with a pen and a piece of paper. It took me ten minutes to throw all of my essentials in a bag. I sat on my bed for fifteen minutes, not knowing what I could possibly say to my parents that would explain to them why I was leaving. When I only had a few minutes left I just scribbled out:  
Dear momma and daddy,  
  
I went away for a little while. I couldn't stand not being able to live my life, so I have to leave. I'll call you soon to let you know that I am safe. Please do not be mad at me, I'm sorry. I love you very much.  
Lane  
  
  
  
I read over what I had written very quickly and then I picked up my two bags, my pillow and my little teddy bear, walked down the stairs, and out my front door. I walked to the corner where I know my family would not be able to see me if someone woke up and passed by a window.  
  
Soon I saw a car pull up with its lights off, and I knew that it was Dave. I walked up to it and double checked that it was, because if it hadn't that would have been terribly horrendous, and said, "Hey."  
  
"Hey," he said. "Are you sure that you want to do this? One hundred percent positive?"  
  
  
"Yes, I want to go with you," I said.  
  
"OK. You can't back out now. There's no turning back after this," he warned.  
  
"Good. Now pop the trunk," I said to him, shocked at my own boldness. Suddenly a surge of excitement ran through my body. I was leaving! I was going to get out on my own. And I never had to come back if I didn't want to! That was an extraordinary thing for my sheltered mind to comprehend. That meant that if I didn't want to, I never had to go to Bible College. I didn't have to marry Yon Chao or whomever else my parents wanted me to. I could marry Dave in Vegas if I wanted to.   
  
I jumped into the front seat next to Dave holding onto my CD case with a newfound appreciation of our road trip.   
  
"Jeez, tunes for the road?" Dave said, eyeing my case.  
  
"It's in case of emergencies," I said, as though it was obvious. "I should definitely be a boy scout," I said.   
  
"I don't think they let Koreans be boy scouts," Dave said seriously.  
  
"Right, that's what would be stopping me."  
  
He snickered a little bit and then said, "OK, so to Rory's now, right?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. I guess so."  
  
"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to say goodbye?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. It's just... I don't want her to talk me out of it. I don't want her to cry or anything and make me feel bad."   
  
At the time I said that, but I don't really think that that was what it was. I think that in reality it was that Rory had had so much excitement and drama in her life. She had a teen mom and so much drama with boys. First she dated the overzealous Dean and now she was with the little... whatever Jess was. Everyone knew that she was special, and everyone knew that her relationship with Jess had the potential to backfire and throw her on her back. She went to Chilton and was going to go to Harvard and just everything in Stars Hollow depended on Rory fulfilling her dreams. I think that I just wanted my own drama to savor, and to really hold between Dave and me. Dave and I had shared so little in the short time that we had been together by then, and Rory had known every single thing. Just for that short time when it was just Dave and me traveling that open road I wanted it to be just Dave and me and that was it.   
  
"Do you really think that she would make you feel bad?"  
  
"I don't know," I sighed. "How about I call her tomorrow? I like that idea better."  
  
"OK, if that's what you want," he said, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of the radio. He pressed the gas that propelled us forward. Those were the first inches of our whole, dare I say it, adventure. They were our first inches together, as a "we" and as my own free person, liberated to do whatever it was that I really wanted to do.  
AN: thanks to everybody who reviewed my last story. That was awesome, such a rush. Please feel free to really speak your mind when talking about my story, but if you do say something that you think could be improved upon please do give me reasons or suggestions or something that doesn't just leave me hanging in the dark. Thanks. Also, what does AU mean? I figgered out all the other ones butt this one honestly puzzles me. - Jocelyn 


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